Our Own Private Paradise
by Hypnotoad76
Summary: The group vacations in a cabin and Jeff finds a secluded river, where he decides to share his find with only one other person. T rating for now, possibly M rating later on.
1. Chapter 1

"How much further?" Britta asked impatiently

"I don't know," Shirley responded. She glanced on her minivan's GPS before looking back at Abed. "Are we close? You're the only one here who's been there before."

"You make a left at the end of this road, and then it's not much further."

Jeff sighed as he leaned back in his seat, hoping this trip went well. After everything that had happened recently, everyone felt the need to get away for a bit. Sensing this, Abed suggested they all go away to Pierce's cabin for a few days. So after getting permission from Gilbert (who now owned the property), the five of them set off for a few days of relaxation in the woods.

He glanced over at Annie, who was managing to listen to her I-pod uninterruptedly as they drove over the uneven terrain. While it wasn't unusual for him to think about her, he found himself dwelling on her even since they managed to stop Greendale from being sold to Subway. Between her speech in the computer lab and what exactly had caused the door to open, there was a lot for him to work through. That's partly why he had agreed to this trip. So he could hopefully relax and turn off his brain for a few days to avoid actually working through whatever unresolved feelings he had.

"We're here," Abed called out. Jeff looked out the window as Shirley pulled up the long driveway and parked the van, his mouth almost dropping at the sight before them. The place was huge, and looked like it could be a high end bed and breakfast. And with the woods surrounding them, it was very picturesque. While he wasn't one for going into the woods and ruffing it, he could get behind it if 'ruffing it' entailed this sort of luxury.

The five of them gathered there bags, talking excitedly as they followed Abed up the porch steps. He checked under the door mat before looking in the mailbox, where he found an envelope. He opened it and pulled out a key and letter. "_Dear Abed and friends_," Abed read out loud. "_Hope you folks enjoy your time at the cabin. Make yourselves at home, and lock up and put the key back in the mailbox when you leave. Gilbert_." With that he put the envelope back in the mailbox before unlocking the door.

They stood there for a few moments, admiring the sight before them, when Shirley walked around, running her fingers over the surfaces as she went through the area. "Alright, before we settle in, let's bring in the food and the rest of the stuff first. And we should also dust, and sweep and mop the floors."

"Shirley, come on, we're on vacation," Britta whined, beating Jeff's attempt to complain.

"That doesn't mean we should live in a dirty home. Besides, Gilbert is being nice enough to give us his house for the weekend. The least we can do is leave it cleaner then it was when we got here."

"Guys, come on. If we work together we'll get it done in no time, and then we can relax" Annie said.

"Fine, let's get this over with," Jeff reluctantly agreed. They all went outside and started bring in everything from the van.

"I've been curious to see how buttered noodles taste with falafel balls. This will be a good time to test it out," Abed announced as he unpacked one of the grocery bags.

"I'll try that," Britta said. "Especially since there's no meat in that meal. I think we would all benefit if everyone tried not eating any animal products…"

"No one cares about your hippy philosophy," Jeff yelled as he put a bag in the cabin and went back outside, where Shirley was frantically looking through the van. "You need help with something?"

"I think I left the bug spray at home. It was in a red grocery bag and I can't find it. Can you please go into town and get some?"

"Wait, why do I have to go?" he asked.

"Because I have to stay here and make sure the place gets clean. Annie's fine, but Abed will get distracted, and Britta…do I really have to say it."

"You've got a point," he reluctantly agreed. "But I don't want to drive twenty minutes into town just for bug spray."

"There's a general store not far from here," Abed said as he came outside, having overheard their dilemma. He pointed towards a dirt pathway in the woods. "Me and Troy found it when we were shooting a movie here a few years ago. Just walk down the path until there's a fork and then make a left. It will lead out to a road with a store across from it."

"There, you can take a nice walk and keep us from getting eaten alive from mosquitos," Shirley told him.

"Fine," he said, figuring a walk was better than being made to clean.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_I don't think this is right_, Jeff thought. He continued to walk, feeling more and more like he made a mistake. When he'd gotten to the fork he couldn't remember if Abed had said to make a left or a right. He took a chance and decided to go right. But after ten minutes of walking he was beginning to think he made the wrong choice.

"If I don't see something soon I'm heading back before I get lost." He continued onward until he could see a break in the trees. Jeff hurried up ahead, expecting to see a road when he broke out of the path. Instead he saw a far different sight.

He was staring at a rounded body of water. At first he thought it was a small lake. But as he walked upward he realized it was a swollen section of a river. Each end narrowed to where the area was almost a circle with water flowing in and out of it. He walked to the edge and ran his hands through the water. He felt a current, but it was extremely slight.

The grass on the sides of the river was soft and green, and there was just enough tree overcast to offer shade and still let light bath the area. In short, it was a perfect place to kick back and relax.

Jeff took off his sandals and sat along the bank, dipping his feet in the river. He stayed there for several minutes, just enjoying the tranquility around him. He could stay here all day, just staying where he was or maybe swimming in the river.

As he sat there he wondered if he should let anyone else know about his find. Britta would somehow Britta it, and Abed would probably want to use the area to shoot a movie or reenact some scene from a film or television show. He wasn't averse to telling Shirley, except that he knew she couldn't keep a secret and would eventually tell the others of his secret spot. So if he wanted to tell someone that only left…

Jeff smirked as that thought formed in his head, mostly because he knew eliminating the others was just a formality. He wanted to show this place to Annie not because she was the only who wouldn't ruin it, but because he wanted to spend some time with her. Even though he knew it could lead to things he wasn't sure he was ready for, he still wanted to share this experience with her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"What took you so long?" Shirley asked as Jeff walked inside the cabin.

"Oh, you know…" he vaguely responded as he set the plastic grocery bag down and pulled out a few cans of bug spray. "Who brought the water guns?" Jeff asked, indicating the water pistols on the table in front of him.

"They were in the closet by the front door. Abed said he and Troy brought them when they made a movie here last year," Shirley said. "Did you drag out getting the bug spray just to get out of cleaning?" she asked disapprovingly.

"Yup, you caught me," Jeff lied

"Wish I had thought of that," Britta said, earning a death glare from Shirley. Jeff took advantage of the distraction to slip downstairs. He walked past a laundry room before finding Annie in a bedroom pushing two twin beds together. "Hi."

"Hey Jeff. Would you mind grabbing an end," she indicated towards the sheet she was holding. "There's five bedrooms, so each of us gets our own room," she explained as Jeff took hold one of the ends of the sheet and helped her make up the now large bed. "Since I ended up in this room I thought it'd be fun to push the beds together and sleep in a big bed for a change. We put your bag in the room upstairs at the far end. It should give you a great view of the night sky when you sleep."

"Okay, sure." He watched her smooth out the sheets before suddenly saying, "Come with me."

Annie hands paused over the bed as she looked at Jeff. "Excuse me?"

"I found something before and I want to show it to you."

"Okay, what is it?" she asked.

"It's a surprise. Just put on your bathing suit and meet me outside in a few minutes."

Annie frowned as she looked at Jeff, feeling both curious and wary about how vague he was being. "Alright, anything else?"

"Don't tell anyone."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Come on, it's through here."

Annie sighed as she followed Jeff through the break in the trees, her exasperation immediately turning to wonder as she took in the picturesque scene before her. "It's beautiful."

"Thought you'd like it. Join me for a swim?"

"Sure." She smiled as the two of them pulled off their clothes, revealing their swimsuits underneath. Annie blushed as she felt Jeff's eyes on her, wishing she had worn a one piece suit. She glanced over at him, taking in how good he looked in his broad trunks.

"I don't know how deep it goes, so we probably shouldn't just dive in-JEFF!" She cried out as Jeff jumped right into the water. She breathed a sigh of relief as he surfaced, before yelling furiously at him. "You could have hurt yourself! What if it was only a couple feet deep and you broke something?"

"It looked deep enough when I found it earlier. It's fine. Come on in."

With that Annie jumped into the river. As she surfaced she dug her toes into the sandy bottom. If she stood on her toes she was able to raise herself to about neck level out of the water. She then kicked her legs up and swam on her back, looking up as a few birds flew by overhead. She looked around, only to see Jeff was nowhere in sight.

"Jeff?"

Annie then let out a scream as she felt something grab her leg. She kicked furiously, fearing an animal had gotten her, when Jeff suddenly surfaced. "You jerk," she yelled as she slapped his chest.

"Oh come on, you had to have known I'd do that."

"Then you should know I'm going to do this." She splashed water in his face before furiously rubbing her palms through his hair.

"Hey, quit it." He grabbed one of her wrists while rubbing his hair with the other hand. "It's going to look terrible now when it dries."

"You're on vacation Jeff. You can stand going one day without perfect hair."

"Okay. Then when you wake up tomorrow let's see you just walk around with bed head."

She rolled her eyes as she slipped out of his grasp and swam around. "This place is great. We should tell the others."

"Yeah, let's not do that."

Annie stopped swimming, frowning at that suggestion. "Why shouldn't we tell them?"

"I don't know…" Jeff wiped some water from his face to buy a few moments of trying to figure out how much truth to reveal. "It's just, if we tell them then Abed will want to either film a movie or have us reenact some scene. And you know Britta will do something to ruin it, like try and protest beaver dams or something. The less people who know about this place the better it will be."

"But, you brought me here…even though you wanted to keep it a secret."

"Yeah well…I wanted to share it with someone and I figured you were the only one who wouldn't mess it up," he said in a hopefully nonchalant tone.

She swam towards him, frowning at his explanation. "So that's the only reason I'm here? Because I was just the best candidate?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I thought you'd like it here."

Annie sighed a bit sadly, knowing there was more to Jeff bringing her here then he was letting on. As they looked at each other Jeff splashed water in her face. She giggled in spite of herself and splashed him right back, leading to an epic splash fight.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After swimming for a while they laid down on the grass, letting the sun dry them off (neither of them had thought to bring a towel.) While they talked a little bit, they mostly stayed in comfortable silence, admiring clouds and enjoying the quiet. It wasn't until the sun started to set and their stomachs rumbled that they realized how long they had been out there. With regret they pulled on their clothes and shoes and made their way back to the cabin.

"Where have you two been?" Britta asked suspiciously as the two of them walked inside, seeing everyone sitting at the table finishing up dinner.

"We went exploring and just lost track of time," Jeff said as they sat down and filled their plates with food. Britta and Shirley seemed to accept their answer, while Abed gave them one of his unnerving 'Abed' looks. "Can you stop looking at me like that while I'm eating?" Jeff asked.

"Okay. We're watching Cabin in the Woods later. It seems appropriate given the circumstance."

"That's good," Annie said uncertainly, since she wasn't the biggest fan of scary movies.

The group cleaned up after Jeff and Annie finished eating, and then settled in to watch the movie. While the action unfolded on the screen Annie and Jeff kept sharing covert looks at each over, wordlessly telling each other how much they enjoyed their time at their secret spot.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Annie, wake up."

Annie sighed in content as she stretched under the sheets. "Mark…" Her eyes opened as she realized Jeff was standing next to her bed. "Jeff?"

"Who's Mark?" he asked playfully.

"I…I was having a dream where Mark Ruffalo and I were spies…" She groaned as at the annoying grin on Jeff's face. "Shut up. What time is it?"

"Just after seven in the morning. No one else is up."

"So why did you wake me up?" she asked as she got out of bed, noticing Jeff was already dressed.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to go back to our spot. We can swim, explore the area. We can pack a lunch and make a day of it."

"Won't the others notice if we're gone all day?" she asked.

"We'll leave a note and say we went hiking. Come on, what do you say?"

She smiled at the prospect of spending the day with Jeff at their secret spot. "Okay. But I do have one idea of something else we can do."

"Okay, what is it?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff ran through the woods as fast as he could, hiding behind a tree to compose himself. He looked around as a shot of water flew past him, hitting a spot on the tree right next to his face. He looked around, seeing Annie behind a nearby tree, her water gun at the ready. She squeezed off another shot as Jeff dove to the side and fired his gun at Annie, hitting her in the stomach. "20 points."

"Jeff, we said 10 points for hitting the torso, 20 for limbs, and 30 points for the head. That was just 10."

"That doesn't make any sense. Shouldn't it be more points for hitting the stomach and chest?" he asked. "That's technically a kill shot."

"We're fighting with water guns, so no one's getting killed. And legs and arms are worth more because they're harder to hit then someone's body."

Taking advantage of her lapsed state Jeff charged at her, firing his gun right at her. She quickly fired back, yelling like a female Rambo. They hit each other multiple times before both their guns ran out of water. "Well that's a quick way to take out the enemy," Jeff exclaimed.

"I think that was more of a kamikaze mission on both of our parts." She frowned as she squeezed water out of the bottom of her shirt. "My clothes are soaked now."

"We're going swimming anyway. We can just let them dry while we're in the river."

"That works. Race you." With that she took off for the river. Jeff laughed as he raced after her, determined not to lose.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Thank you," Annie said as she accepted the peanut butter cover cracker Jeff handed her. After swimming for a while they got out of the water and broke into the picnic they had brought with them. It wasn't anything fancy (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a box of crackers and a jar of peanut butter, and a thermos of lemonade), but neither of them cared. They just enjoyed how their vacation was shaping up.

"I feel like I'm on summer break," Jeff said as he swallowed a mouthful of his sandwich. "I will say, one good thing about having going to Greendale was getting a summer vacation. I forgot how much I liked having two months to just relax. It was like being a kid again."

"I wouldn't know," Annie said simply. "I never really had a summer break growing up."

"Come on, every kid gets a summer break."

"My parents wouldn't let me have one. When I was little they'd enroll me in an academic camp every summer so I could continue learning. Then when I began junior high they made me take summer classes. So I pretty much was doing school work all year round."

Jeff sighed deeply at hearing yet another tidbit in the childhood Annie had to endure. "That's terrible."

"I didn't mind it…sometimes," she admitted. "I love learning and I liked most of the classes I took. But I would sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a regular summer break growing up. Like waking up late and swimming in a pool and watching TV until I was sick of it."

"That sounds like most of my summers growing up," Jeff told her.

She chuckled at hearing that. "If I have kids, I'm not going to deprive them of a summer," she said thoughtfully. "They'll have their whole lives to work year round. They should be able to have months to just relax and do whatever they want to do." She took a sip of her lemonade as she looked around. "I'm really glad we're here. Even if it's only for a few days…it's nice to have a chance to just enjoy ourselves."

"It's still surprising to hear Annie Edison say she loves doing nothing."

"Hey, I'm full of surprises mister." She gently shoved Jeff's shoulder, where he caught her hand and held it for a moment, rubbing his fingers over the back of her hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Marco!" Annie called out.

"Polo!" Jeff yelled back.

Annie swam in the direction she thought Jeff's voice had come from, listening carefully for sounds of Jeff swimming. She crept along, calling out 'Marco' and following Jeff's responses.

"Marco!"

"Polo!"

Her ears perked up as she realized Jeff's yell was much closer than before. She quickly swam forward, now able to hear him swimming away. She waved her hands and felt them hit something. "Okay, okay, you got me!" Jeff yelled.

"Got yeah!" she happily cried out as she opened her eyes. "Your turn."

"We've both gone twice now. Let's call it a draw."

"Fine, then that means I win," she said playfully.

"How do you figure that?"

"I caught you twice mister, so I win."

"Yeah, and I caught you twice too. So we're even."

"No, I let you win the first time, so you only caught me once," Annie revealed.

"You didn't let me win," Jeff insisted. "I caught you fair and square."

"No. I let you catch me the first time because you were getting frustrated. So technically that doesn't count."

"Okay, first of all, I wasn't getting frustrated. And second, even if you did let me catch you, that still counts. We're even."

He quit arguing and looked past her as Annie started fidgeting with one of the cups of her bikini top. "What are you doing?"

"I think I got a leaf or something in my suit." She groaned in annoyance as she adjusted her suit, not taking into account how she was essentially feeling herself up in front of Jeff. "Sometimes it's annoying swimming in a bikini."

"If you were by yourself I'd say just take it off."

Annie stopped fidgeting as she looked at Jeff. "Wait, you mean…swim naked?"

"Yes Annie, that's what they call it when you swim without a bathing suit on."

"Don't condescend me Jeff." She blushed as the thought entered her mind. "I've never done that before.

"I have. It's pretty fun."

"Of course you have," she said smoothly.

"Why did you say it like that?" Jeff asked.

"I'm just not surprised in the least that Jeff Winger has skinny dipped. I bet women have just jumped at the chance to do that."

"Not that I need to defend myself, but skinny dipping doesn't have to be sexual," he said, even though he'd never swam naked with a woman where it didn't go in that direction. "Once you're both in the water you really don't see anything unless your both underwater. It's not much different from just regular swimming."

Annie was silent as she swam around thoughtfully. Just when Jeff figured she was off the topic she said, "If I decided to do it."

"Do what, wait?" Jeff asked. "Are you saying you want to-"

"IF," she heavily stressed, "I decided to try swimming naked, it would have to be when I know we're alone."

"Annie, look around you. We've been alone all day."

"Yes, but someone from the group could come here. It wouldn't be that hard for them to follow that path and find us. Or someone else from another cabin or a camp site could come here. If we did it, it would have to be at night when everyone is asleep."

"You're serious," Jeff asked in astonishment. "You really want to skinny dip."

"Well you said yourself it doesn't have to be sexual. Just two people swimming around without clothes on."

"Yeah," Jeff said uncertainly. He had just said that before so she wouldn't judge him. Seeing a naked wet Annie was not something he thought he could do without it turning into a sexual matter.

_Just say no_, he thought. _Talk her out of it. It's a bad idea. Just say no, just say_-

"Okay," he said. "If you really want to."

"I do," she said a bit nervously. "I mean, I've never done it before. And I should try it once, right?"

"Yup. So…I guess we'll come back here later once everyone is asleep, and…skinny dip."

"Aw huh," Annie said.

_Idiot_, Jeff screamed in his head.


	2. Chapter 2

After staying at their spot for most of the day, Jeff and Annie decided to head back to the cabin. Like the previous night they arrived to find the group sitting down at the kitchen table for dinner (this time at the start of the meal instead of the end). After being vague on where they had been all day they dug into the somewhat burnt vegetarian meal Britta had prepared. After dinner they all cleaned up and then watched another movie, with Jeff and Annie fidgeting during the entire time. They barely focused on what was on the screen, since they were both waiting for Shirley, Britta and Abed to go to bed so they could embark on their latest adventure.

After the movie was over Jeff went to his room, not trusting the others to not notice his anxiousness. He checked his e-mail on his phone when he heard a knock on the door. "It's open." He looked in surprise as Shirley came into his room. "Hey Shirley."

"Hello Jeffrey. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Okay," he answered apprehensively, figuring she was sent to grill him on where he'd been this whole time.

"I know you and Annie have been spending a lot of time together since we got here," she began.

"We're just friends having fun," he quickly stated, noticing the frown on her face at his words.

"Yes, I know you both are going out and…having fun," she said disapprovingly.

"Hey," he insisted as he got what she was implying. "We've just been hanging out as friends. I know it might look like something, since we keep sneaking off, but we're just friends."

"Right, just like you and Britta were once 'just friends', or you and Slater were 'just friends'." She sighed as anger entered her eyes. "I'm aware that Annie isn't exactly a kid anymore, but she's still a sweet young woman who's been pushed around way too often. And I'm telling you right now that if you're just messing around with her and hurt her in any way, Big Cheddar making you pee your pant will be a pleasant memory compared to what I will do to you."

Jeff gulped at her words, not doubting for a second that she was prepared to destroy him if she had to. "I'm not going to hurt Annie. We're just hanging out as friends. Nothing's going on."

"I hope so, for both your sakes. Have a good night Jeff." With that Shirley walked out of the room, leaving a nervous Jeff in his wake.

Jeff sat down on the bed, pondering what had just happened. From that little encounter it seemed everyone thought he and Annie were sneaking off to have sex. It wasn't that surprising they'd jump to that conclusion, given his history with women. But this was one time they were completely wrong, since nothing at all was going on between him and Annie.

_But that doesn't mean something can't happen_, Jeff thought. He knew he were about to go out and skinny dip with a very attractive woman, in a secluded river at night. He also was aware that despite how much he denied it, he did indeed have feelings towards Annie. Even his powers of denial couldn't ignore what had happened in the computer lab. That made what they were about to do a dangerous situation to be in.

Just then his phone buzzed. He looked at it, seeing it was a text from Annie.

Annie: Britta's in her room and Shirley just went into hers. After Abed turns in let's wait a ½ hour and then we can go.

Jeff knew he should tell her that they shouldn't go. That it would be better for both of them to just stay in. But instead he simply texted her back, 'Sure'. It was like the rational part of his brain was ignoring him when it came to embarking on this adventure with Annie.

_You're just friends_, Jeff reminded himself. _And friends can swim together naked. It's perfectly normal to swim naked with your friend. Even if that friend has smooth skin…and perfect breasts…and a smile that lights up…damn it._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they were sure everyone was turned in for the night Jeff and Annie crept outside and made their way to the river. The moon hung brightly in the night sky, and made it easy to walk through the forest trail. In no time they made it to their secret spot. While they had seen it before, it had a whole different feeling at night. The water almost seemed to glow from the moon light reflected off its surface, and the night sky made the area seem even more majestic then it did during the daytime.

Annie walked over to the edge and slipped out of her sandals before dipping a foot through the water. "Its cooler then it was during the day, but it doesn't seem that cold."

"That's good. Cold water doesn't really agree with guys. Especially when they're swimming without anything on." He chuckled as Annie gigged nervously along with him. "So…how do you want to do this?"

Annie fidgeted with the collar of her shirt before dropping her towel and giving Jeff a look. "Turn around and don't look until I'm in the water."

Jeff nodded and turned around on the spot. He was very tempted to sneak a peek, but instead kept his body firmly turned away from her. He wasn't going to take something from Annie she wasn't willing to give. As he heard her clothes rustle and the sound of a zipper unzipping he let out a low groan as he cock twitched. Just knowing that Annie was undressing a foot away from him was getting him excited. For his sake he hoped the water was cold. At least then it could maybe quell the attraction he wanted to keep hidden.

He then heard a loud splash, followed by Annie yelling, "Hold shit its cold." He turned around, seeing her in the water. While he could see a general outline of her pale body, he couldn't make out anything more than if she was swimming in her bikini. She wiped her hair out of her face as she smiled up at him. "Aren't you coming in?"

"Be right there." As he began undressing Jeff considered turning around, but decided to just do it and let her see what he had, since it wouldn't matter once he was in the water. Annie watched as Jeff pulled his clothes off, trying to ignore the flushed feeling her body was getting. She tried looking away once he pulled his underwear off, but couldn't help sneaking in a few peeks.

Once he had all his clothes off Jeff jumped into the water. "Fuck its cold."

"Told you."

He moved his arms and legs and sank to where everything below his eyes was below the water. After a few moments his body became adjusted to the cool water and he stood fully up so his head and shoulders were above the surface. "It's not bad once you're used to it."

"It's not freezing. It's just colder at night then it was during the day. See." With that Annie splashed Jeff in the face. He fought right back and splashed her giggling face, leading to an epic splash fight. Their laughter seemed amplified in the night surroundings as they went at it.

"Truce, truce okay?" Annie held up her hands in surrender, spitting water out of her mouth. Jeff was tempted to get one more splash in, but decided to let her be. Instead they swam in the water, looking around at the area. "It's beautiful here at night."

"Yup," Jeff replied. _See, it's not so bad_, he thought_. This isn't any different from if we were swimming in our bathing suits._

Of course, Annie choose that moment to suddenly jump upward, causing Jeff to see her breasts for a blink-and-you'd-miss-it second before she sunk back into the water. "What are you doing?"

"I stepped on a rock."

"Well don't do that," he quickly stated. Jeff swam around, trying to get that image out of his head. It had only been for a moment, but it was enough to tell him she really did have a spectacular pair on her. That newfound knowledge made thinking of her in a purely non-sexual manor all the more difficult.

He turned around as she swam over to him. "This is fun. I don't know why I haven't done this before. I'd definitely do it again."

"I'm sure guys would just line up to skinny dip with you," Jeff said with general sincerity.

To Jeff's surprise Annie scoffed at his remark. "Yeah, cause guys are racing to do anything with me. I can count on my fingers the number of dates I've had, including before going to Greendale, during and afterwards."

"Okay, first all Annie, most of the guys who go to Greendale are creepy idiots you're better off avoiding. And second, when are you going to get it through your head that you're a catch and any guy would be lucky to be with you."

Annie looked at Jeff, surprised by what he was saying. "Really…any guy," she said tentatively.

"Yeah," Jeff responded softly. He looked into Annie's eyes, seeing the moonlight reflected in those magnificent blues. Her bright smile extended to her entire face, making it even lovelier than normal. He gently wiped away some water from her lips as his head slowly moved towards her.

_Stop right now_, the rational part of his brain yelled at him. _This is the exact opposite of what you should be doing! Code red, code red! _

The rational voice in his head was silenced as his lips connected with hers. They both sighed in content as she kissed him right back. Their kisses were tender at first, but quickly increased in passion. In the years since their first year outside the Tranny dance he had forgotten just how amazing it was to kiss her, to the point where he couldn't believe he had waited so long to do this again. He pulled her even closer into him, stroking her wet hair and slippery back.

"Jeff, wait," Annie suddenly said as she pulled back. "What are we doing?"

"I think it's pretty obvious what's going on here?"

"Is it?" she asked. "Because I honestly don't know what's going on anymore. I thought we were just out here as friends, and then you kiss me-"

"Hey, you kissed me right back," Jeff insisted.

"I _know_," she stressed. "I'm not saying I'm not blameless for this. But…" Annie groaned in frustration as she stepped/swam back a couple feet. "How long are we going to keep doing this? Every time I'm sure I know where we stand you do something to make me question everything. I just want some closure." She sighed before calmly asking Jeff, "Do you want to be with me or not."

Jeff shivered slightly as he looked at Annie's calm yet determined face, his body reacting from her question rather than from the cool water they were standing in. "You asked me this once before and-"

"I swear, if you even think of saying relationships are complicated-"

"They are when it comes to me."

Annie scoffed at that, giving Jeff the epic eye roll to end all epic eye rolls. "Right, you _so can't _do relationships. That's why you were willing to marry Britta when Greendale was being sold to subway."

"That was an overreaction to a terrible situation. We already told you guys that after we got back the school. And didn't you say you would have been happy for us if we got married," Jeff stressed.

"I said I would support you in whatever decision makes you happy. I never thought for a moment that you and Britta getting married was a good idea." Annie let out another scoff, which was sadder than her previous one. "I mean...even if you were panicking, you two just decided to get married after constantly telling us how much you hate marriage. Though there must be something there, since that was the second time you almost married Britta."

"What? When was the first time…" Jeff chuckled as it came back to him. "Right, Shirley's second wedding. I forgot about that."

"So how can I believe you like me when you keep running back to Britta? You obviously want to be with her if you keep wanting to marry her."

"That's not why we did it. The first time was just us drunkenly trying to one up each other. I don't know if you've noticed, but we have a habit of egging each other on. We're not the best influence for one another."

Annie was silent as she took that in. "Okay…and the second time was…just blind panic?"

"Exactly. It was just a stupid mistake we made because were caught up in losing Greendale. We were just egging each other on again. I mean, if you had been there I never would asked you to marry…" he stopped when he saw the look on Annie's face. "Wait, that's not-."

"Jeff, its fine," she said, her voice a little high, but otherwise free of sadness. "It's not like I'm pining away writing 'Jeff & Annie forever' in a notebook. I know you'd never-."

"Stop," he said firmly. "I meant I wouldn't have asked you to marry me like that, like it was nothing. You mean…you're too important to just ask without a thought…" Jeff sighed, feeling very exposed and naked, which was saying something since he was fine literally standing naked in front of her. He tried to state exactly what he wanted to say when he suddenly blurted out, "You caused the door to open."

"What? What are you talking about?" Annie asked in confusion.

"When we were trapped in the computer lab and I put on that helmet because a burst of emption was supposed to get the doors to open. I looked at everyone and could read their thoughts. And when I looked at you…you thought 'Milord' just after I thought 'Milady'."

Annie looked at Jeff, her face softening as she took in what he was saying. "I know," she said in a soft voice.

"You…wait, you could ready my mind too?"

"No, I couldn't read your mind. But when we were down there and had our backs turned to you, I felt you looking at me and…I don't know, I just sensed you were saying 'Milady' in your head. So…I just answered you back."

"And once that happened, the doors opened. Thinking about you is what caused them to open," Jeff stressed. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

As Jeff looked at Annie he was surprised to see her face become sad instead of happy like he was expecting. "Yes Jeff, I get it. A part of you wants to be with me. That's why you leap to have adventures with me, like solving the mystery of the Ass Crack Bandit or teaming with me to win a school wide game of Hot Lava. But if you really want to be with me, why don't you just do it. Why do you have to always fake a reason or pull back when it starts to become real? Why are you so afraid of actually being with me?"

"Because then it's real and there's no going back," Jeff spat out. He forced himself to get it out, since he knew he might never be this emotionally vulnerable again. "Annie, you're one of my closest friends, and I care about you greatly. And I would love to be able to kiss you, and go out on a date with you, and have sex with you. But I'm terrible when it comes to relationships. And if we were together, and it didn't work out…I'd lose you as a friend and as a girlfriend. And I couldn't stand it if that happened. So…not being with you ensures that I still get to be with you."

Annie shivered herself at Jeff's words, both touched by what he was saying and peeved that he was too afraid to give them a chance. "Then get over it," she unexpectedly said.

"What?" Jeff asked in disbelief.

"No one knows if a relationship will work out when they first go into one. And I would hate it if we broke up and couldn't even be friends. But you shouldn't let fear decide how you live your life. You said yourself you want to be with me. And no matter how much I try to tell myself otherwise, I want to be with you. So…get over your fears and let's be together already."

Jeff stared at her in disbelief. He knew she was formidable, but this was beyond anything he would have thought she was capable of. Even after knowing her for five years she still could surprise him (though he guessed that she could still surprise her even if they knew each other for fifty years.) His surprise in her grew as Annie swam over and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down until their lips connected again. He held onto her tightly as his tongue slid into her mouth, both of them letting out moans as they realized there was truly no going back this time.

_Screw fear_, he thought. _I'm done running from this_.


	3. Chapter 3

For a while all they did was kiss, neither feeling the need to rush things. Maybe it was the tranquility of their surroundings or just the knowledge that neither of them was going to pull back this time. But despite their overwhelming desire for one another, they were content at first to just make out in the river in their private paradise.

Eventually Jeff slid his hands further underwater and ran them over Annie's back as Annie's hands began roaming over his. Even under the cool water they could feel their bodies responding to one another's touch. As Jeff's hands ventured lower and cupped her ass Annie giggled, inadvertently causing Jeff to moan from the vibrations her lips were making against his. She jumped up a little and wrapped her legs around his waist as Jeff securely held onto her. The two of them moaned as Annie's breasts pressed against Jeff's chest, their nipples hardening as they rubbed against each other.

Annie let out a gasp as she felt the head of Jeff's penis slide into her. He kissed her gently as he slid fully into her. Once he was completely inside of her Jeff pulled his head back and looked at Annie, truly believing at that moment that she was the more beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on.

They continued to look at one another as Jeff's hips moved back and forth in slow deep thrusts. While he wished they were out of the water so he could fully see her, Jeff knew this was the best place for their first time to happen. On land he'd be overcome with desire and would be thrusting into her so fast he wouldn't have lasted long at all. But the cool water offered enough resistance for him to move within her slowly, and be able to savor every single moment.

But while he wanted this to last forever, Jeff knew even the cold water could only make him hold off for so long. As Annie held onto him tightly he felt her clench around him and knew he couldn't last. He pulled her into him as his climax finally came.

Jeff rested his chin against her shoulder, feeling her lips mouth silent sweet nothings in his ear. There were so many things he wanted to say to her right then, to let her know how grateful he was that he was finally being with her after all this time. But he was still Jeff, and sentimentality wasn't his strong suit. So instead he said the first non-sappy or romantic thing that popped into his head. "I think that's the first time I've ever had sex with someone I haven't seen naked."

"That's how I lost my virginity," she said right back.

"What, what?"

"My boyfriend in high school. We had sex, but we never actually saw…I didn't tell you this?"

"I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that one," Jeff said, his voice trying not to laugh.

"Guess I just told Shirley and Britta that story."

"Wow, I didn't think Shirley was capable of keeping gossip like that to herself," Jeff stated, causing Annie to giggle. He noticed that she was shivering and realized his own body was feeling the effects of being naked in a river at night. "We should probably get out of here."

Annie untangled herself from Jeff and watched him walk over to shore and climb out of the river, greatly admiring the view. She took a breath before deciding how to proceed. "Jeff."

"Yeah?" he asked as he turned around, his towel handing by his side.

Instead of verbally answering Annie hoisted herself out of the water and stood up so Jeff could properly see her. She stood there in anticipation as she waited for Jeff's reaction. Even though they had just had sex, she was still nervous about actually being seen naked. Despite the strides she had made over the years, she still wasn't 100% comfortable with actually having others see her naked. She also knew Jeff had been with a good number of women before her, and was apprehensive to what he'd think of her in comparison to the others.

She stood there looking at Jeff, seeing him staring at her with his mouth slightly open. He almost had the look of a teenager who was seeing a naked woman for the first time. As she started to say something her eyes inadvertently traveled downward, before she desperately tried not to blush at seeing his very prominent erection. Though she couldn't help grinning to herself at essentially getting her answer as to Jeff's thoughts at seeing her naked. That was pretty definite proof that he liked what he saw.

Jeff continued to stare at Annie, taking in everything as if this would be the only time he'd ever see such a spectacular sight. He was so engrossed in what he was seeing that it took him a few moments to realize he was hard as a rock. While he was by no means old, he wasn't exactly eighteen anymore and usually needed a few minutes before being ready for round two with a woman. But as soon as he actually saw Annie completely naked, not to mention dripping wet, it was like he had the libido of a teenager again.

With that Jeff marched over and passionately kissed Annie as his hands slid all over her body, trying to touch as much of her as possible. His lips traveled down her neck to the top of her breasts as Annie slid her hands down over his stomach to his shaft. Jeff groaned as Annie grasped hold of his cock with one of her hands, stroking him as her other hand lightly tickled his balls.

"I'm not going to last long if you keep doing that," Jeff told her, raising his head up just enough to discernibly talk.

"You mean the great Jeff Winger can't handle Little Ol Annie," she said in a joyful sing song voice, feeling empowered at the effect she was having on Jeff. She let go of Jeff and brought her hands to his shoulders, pressing down firmly until he allowed himself to sink down onto his knees. "Lay down," she told him with complete confidence.

Without any objection Jeff laid on his back, greatly liking seeing Annie take charge. His eyes widened as he watched her slide her fingers over her breasts, her nipples hardening as she circled and then lightly pinched them. As she moved one hand over her breasts she licked two fingers on her other hand before tracing them down her body until they reached her center. She groaned as her fingers slipped into her folds and she lightly moaned Jeff's name.

Jeff's mind raced furiously as he watched the hypnotic sight before him, not sure what to do at all. Should he join in, or should he continue to watch the show? His decision was made for him as Annie removed her glistening fingers from herself and lowered her body as she lined up her core with Jeff and slowly brought him into her. Once she was completely inside of him she brought her fingers to Jeff's mouth. He greedily sucked at the wetness as Annie experimentally rose herself up and down a few inches.

"Hold mother of…" Jeff managed to get out. Annie smiled and leaned over Jeff, kissing him as she moved her hips and slid up and down his entire length. Not wanting her to feel left out Jeff brought his hand to her center and rubbed her clit with his thumb, causing her to shutter and gasp into his mouth. Jeff pulled back enough to see her face, and realized he wanted to be the only guy who ever made that look of pleasure appear on her. Just like he wanted her to be the only woman he was with for now on. He tried to verbally tell her how much this and her meant to him, but wasn't able to make any sound come out of his mouth besides gasps and her own name. So instead he looked into her eyes, hoping he could wordlessly tell her how completely and utterly he cared for her. He almost came right there as she looked back at him, her perfect eyes darkened with lust and affection. He quickly began mentally reciting the state capitals to try and hold off the inevitable, at least until she arrived also.

As his thump worked faster over her clit Annie arched her back and let out a cry like a song bird as she finally came. Jeff followed a moment later, his body stiffening as his fingers gripped her thighs. Once it was over Annie fell onto Jeff, her head resting on his chest. Jeff laughed as her hair tickled his nose. He moved it from his face and began stroking her wet hair lovingly.

They laid there in the grass holding onto one another, the only sounds being made were those of crickets chirping and frogs croaking. Once he felt he could speak Jeff asked Annie, "Are you okay?"

"I'm great," she said with a grin. "You?"

"Never better." He stroked her back as he felt her shiver. "We should probably get back before we catch cold."

"Okay." She pushed herself off Jeff and got to her feet, her legs somewhat unsteady. Once she felt she could walk Annie grabbed her clothes and towel. As Jeff gathered his own clothes and towel he was surprised to see Annie not getting dressed. Instead she slipped into her sandals before starting back towards the cabin. Jeff quickly put his own sandals on and followed right behind her down the path. As he looked at her back and butt as she walked onward he realized in wonder that he once again was becoming aroused.

_She's like a human aphrodisiac_, he thought

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the clock on the night table. 9:26am. Even though he had slept soundly he still felt tired. Once they had gotten back to the cabin both Jeff and Annie were very horny. They were just able to make it to Annie's room before going at it all over again. By the time it finally ended they had just enough energy to pull the covers over themselves before drifting off to sleep.

He looked over to his left, seeing Annie curled into his side. _I hope I can wake up like this every morning_, he thought, his thoughts more out of affection then from lust. He kissed her temple before she sighed and opened her eyes.

"Morning," she said sleepily.

"Morning Annie. Didn't mean to wake you."

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Just about 9:30."

Annie quickly sat up in bed, wrapping a sheet around her. "That means everyone is up by now."

"Yeah? And the problem is?"

She looked at Jeff, a bit of nervousness creeping up. "It's just…we never discussed…"

"If this goes further than last night," Jeff said, finishing her sentence. He took hold of her hand before continuing. "Annie, I know I've jerked you about and avoided telling you how I really feel. So I'm going to be honest with you for once. I went to be with you. I want to go out with you, and be in a relationship with you, and tell the group about us. Okay, I don't actually want to tell the group because that will cause drama," he amended, causing Annie to smirk in a way Jeff found both cute and sexy. "But I'll tell them and put up with all that…because you're worth it."

With that Annie leaned in and kissed Jeff, wordlessly telling him that was everything she also wanted. Before it could go any further Annie reluctantly pulled back. "Come on, we might as well get it over with. And maybe it won't be that bad."

"Speak for yourself. I bet you $10 Britta and Shirley will threaten me in some way," Jeff said.

They both got dressed (Annie into her pajamas, Jeff into the clothes he had on before they went skinny dipping) before they went upstairs into the main sitting room. As expected Abed, Shirley and Britta were all sitting there watching TV. As they walked over the three of them looked at their friends curiously before Abed suddenly said, "You two had sex last night."

"Abed!" Annie shrieked.

"What….wha…how did you know?" Jeff stammered out.

"You both just came from downstairs and Jeff's room is upstairs, meaning the two of you must have spent the night in Annie's room. You both have mussed hair, like one gets when they've have sex and then fallen asleep." (Jeff and Annie both automatically tried to smooth down their hair as Abed continued.) "And when you were coming upstairs I heard Annie humming to herself, which she does when she's in a relationship."

"I knew it, I knew you two were sneaking around having sex all this time," Shirley declared.

"Not that it's anyone's business, but last night was the only time we've been together like that," Jeff said sternly. "We haven't been sneaking around all this time. We were just having fun as friends."

"But you two are together now, right?" Britta asked tentatively.

"Yes, we're together now," Annie declared, taking hold of Jeff's hand.

They were all silent for several seconds before to everyone's great surprise Britta said, "Finally."

"Wait, what?" Jeff said in surprise.

"Oh please, we all knew this would happen. 'I'm going skiing with Annie. I'm playing Hot Lava with Annie. I'm going to try and save video game Annie before accidently killing her'. You want me to keep going?"

"And, you're okay with this?" Jeff tentatively asked.

"As long as you two keep the lovey dovey crap to yourselves, I'm fine with it. You both might be less annoying if you're actually together and regularly doing it." Britta then cringed at what she just said. "I think I was possessed by the ghost of Pierce for a second there."

"Shirley? What about you?" Annie asked.

Shirley took a breath before looking at Jeff. "I still stand by what I said to you last night. If you hurt her in any way-"

"I'm won't. I'm not going to hurt her," Jeff said with true honesty.

"Then I'm not going to say anything."

Annie and Jeff both looked at Abed, who simply said, "We can use a new plot dynamic. This could be good for all of us."

They both breathed a sigh of relief at having the group's approval, before Annie laughed and looked at Jeff. "You owe me $10."

"No, I owe you $5 because only Shirley threatened me."

"Wait, what!" Shirley yelled.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As they all began packing up the van both Jeff and Annie moved slowly, not wanting to leave. This trip had brought them together, and neither were eager to leave. Jeff in particular didn't want to leave this place, in particular their secret spot. He wished there was a way for them to keep the magical feeling that place had brought them forever.

It was then that an idea of how to do that came to him. He asked Annie to cover for him, stating he left something at the river. He quickly made his way to the river and searched the area. Finally, he found what he was looking for.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff smiled as he walked out of the jewelry store. It had been three weeks since their trip to Pierce's cabin. During that time he and Annie had spent seventeen of those nights together, had gone out on ten actual dates, and survived their first fight (with both of them taking advantage of the joys of make-up sex.) Even if they hadn't been together for that long Jeff was extremely enjoying being with Annie, and hoped this truly was the beginning of a very long and happy relationship.

The two of them still talked about the cabin, and in particular their secret spot. Both of them had great affection for it, since it was the place they finally ended up together at. They both wished they could spend every day there, just lounging around lazily without any disturbances or responsibilities.

Though even if they couldn't do that, Jeff did now have a way to keep the memory of their spot with them always.

Jeff made his way to Annie's building and went inside, knocking on apt. 303. After a minute the door opened with Annie standing there. "Milady."

"Milord," she said with a smile. Jeff kissed her before Annie stepped inside and let him in.

"Is Abed here?" he asked

"He went to see that new Wes Anderson movie with Rachel, so we have the place to ourselves," Annie said as she went to the refrigerator and got two beers for them. "I just got American Hustle on Netflix. If you want we can stay in and watch that."

"Yeah, that sounds good. But there's something I want to talk to you about first."

"Okay," she said curiously as she went to him, sensing the tone in his voice. "What is it?"

Jeff ran his finger over the bag before putting it on the counter. "Okay, I'm still working on getting better with romantic gestures and such, so here it goes. I know how much our spot by the river meant to the two of us, and that we wish we could go back there every day. Well…before we left I wanted to do something that would have us keep a part of that special place with us always."

Annie's eyes widened as Jeff reached into the bag and pulled out a large square black jewelry box, handing it to Annie. She opened the box and pulled out a gold bracelet. The band was sturdy without bring too thick, and had a hinge to easily put it on one's wrist. In the middle was a disk where a stone would go. As Annie looked at it she saw it wasn't a diamond or other precious stone in the setting. Instead it was a smooth ordinary rock. As she looked at it closely she brought a hand over her mouth as she read the inscription that was finely engraved on the stone, 'A & J'.

Annie wiped a few tears away as Jeff reached into his pocket and pulled out his key ring. He held his keys in front of Annie, where she saw that attached to the ring was a short gold chain. At the end of the chain was a gold setting with a rock inside that looked just like the one on Annie's bracelet. And inscribed on that rock was 'J & A'.

"They're from the river at our spot," Jeff said apprehensively, now wondering if what he did was lame. "I figured it's a way we can always remember our time there and-"

Before he would finish talking Annie launched onto Jeff, kissing him all over his face. "You are the sweetest…most thoughtful boyfriend ever," she said in between kisses.

"Guess you like it," he said with a grin.

"I love it. I love…" She trailed off as Jeff looked at her, both of them knowing that last love wasn't in reference to the jewelry. Apprehension crept into her heart as she wondered if she had just scared Jeff off, if it was too soon to actually say it.

Her fears immediately evaporated as Jeff said to her, "I love you too." He kissed her passionately, causing warm happiness to flow throughout her entire body.

"Bedroom, bedroom now," she said with lust in her voice. They ran to her room and locked the door, in case any unwanted visitors decided to try and pay them a visit. Since as it was, neither of them were going to emerge anytime soon.


End file.
